Investing.com-- U.S. stock futures jumped Wednesday evening as strong post-market earnings from Microsoft and Meta boosted sentiment, after Wall Street logged marginal gains in a volatile session as data showed the economy contracted during the first quarter.
S&P 500 Futures rose 0.9% to 5,636.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures jumped 1.4% to 19,931.50 points by 20:13 ET (00:13 GMT). Dow Jones Futures gained 0.4% to 40,932.0 points.
Microsoft, Meta surge in extended trading after strong Q1 results
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META ) shares jumped 5.7% in extended trading on Wednesday after quarterly results and guidance topped consensus.
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram anticipates full-year 2025 capital expenditures in the range of $64-72 billion, increased from their prior guidance of $60-65 billion. It raised its planned capex as it accelerates the construction of AI-supporting data centers.
Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT ) shares surged 7% after publishing strong quarterly results.
The company’s first-quarter revenue increased 13%. It also forecast cloud-computing revenue growth of 34% to 35% for the fiscal fourth quarter.
The US economy unexpectedly contracted in Q1
The U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter, data released earlier Wednesday showed, as U.S. gross domestic product contracted by 0.3% on an annualized basis.
In the fourth quarter, it had grown by 2.4%. Economists had predicted a slight expansion of 0.2%.
The economy was hurt by a 41.3% surge in imports during the period, the most in five years, as consumers and businesses pulled forward buying ahead of Trump’s planned tariffs.
In the regular trading session on Wednesday, major Wall Street indexes trimmed earlier losses to end marginally higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.4% higher, and the S&P 500 gained 0.2%, while the NASDAQ Composite edged down 0.1%.
Apple, Amazon results on tap
This busy earnings week, with about one-third of S&P 500-listed firms slated to post results, continues, with iPhone-maker Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL ) and e-commerce titan Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) scheduled to unveil earnings after the bell on Thursday.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX ) stock fell nearly 6% after the coffee chain’s global comparable sales declined for the fifth straight quarter.
Industrial giant Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT ) reported a lower first-quarter profit, hurt by softer demand due to economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ: SMCI ) stock slumped 11.5% after the AI server maker cut its third-quarter revenue and profit expectations due to delays in customer spending.